hi,

in my trips to china, i remarked that many workers have
a portable teapot, usually made of plastic. they are
cylindrical, and have a filter on top so that leaves do
not get into the mouth.

ok, for that it is ok, a very useful teaware. but what
shocks me is that tea is not supposed to overbrew, and
people using that may leave the tea there for many
minutes, maybe more than 1 hour (so it gets cold). can
anybody explain about that?

I just bought a version of one of these tea jars at Teaism in Wash DC.
I find it addictive, really, but I think the green tea taste does
suffer. I wouldn't recommend drinking any really expensive teas this
way, but it is a nice way to sip green tea all day. When it gets near
the bottom, you fill it up again (and again, and again, until the
flavor disappears). In my opinion, I get a lot more of the bitterness
of green tea than the other flavors. But it is a great way to drink
tea because you see the leaves and always have something in the cup.
It is a great way to drink tea at work. I also don't mind cool or even
cold green tea.

-Charles

On May 7, 8:36 am, cha bing > wrote:
> I just bought a version of one of these tea jars at Teaism in Wash DC.
> I find it addictive, really, but I think the green tea taste does
> suffer. I wouldn't recommend drinking any really expensive teas this
> way, but it is a nice way to sip green tea all day. When it gets near
> the bottom, you fill it up again (and again, and again, until the
> flavor disappears). In my opinion, I get a lot more of the bitterness
> of green tea than the other flavors. But it is a great way to drink
> tea because you see the leaves and always have something in the cup.
> It is a great way to drink tea at work. I also don't mind cool or even
> cold green tea.
>
> -Charles

If you control the amount of leaves you put in there, you won't even
get a lot of bitterness. It's simply the most convenient way to drink
tea throughout the day in the office or on the go... you can do this
to any kind of tea, not just green.

I actually blogged about this before

http://www.xanga.com/MarshalN/585961...aking-tea.html

MarshalN
http://www.xanga.com/MarshalN

> in my trips to china, i remarked that many workers have
> a portable teapot, usually made of plastic. they are
> cylindrical, and have a filter on top so that leaves do
> not get into the mouth.
>
> ok, for that it is ok, a very useful teaware. but what
> shocks me is that tea is not supposed to overbrew, and
> people using that may leave the tea there for many
> minutes, maybe more than 1 hour (so it gets cold). can
> anybody explain about that?


I use one of these almost daily, but only for puerh, oolongs, blacks,
and greens, as I do not find them useful for red teas. Two things, 1st
as MarshallN pointed out you must control the amount of leaf you use,
2nd I gradually increase the temperature of the water throughout the
day. I use a fair amount of leaf but initially I will use water a bit
colder than that tea would normally require, then throughout the day
I use hotter and progressively hotter water. This has provided the
best results, for me at least, especially for green puerh.

Yes, the plastic ones dont keep the water hot like other methods, but
that also helps to serve the purpose of not over extracting the leaf.

Once adapted I fell in love with mine. Yellow Mountain Imports, on
eBay, caries several varieties of these.

Mike
http://www.pu-erh.net

thanks for all the replies. so, i see, seems a matter of controlling
temperature. i have drank tea many times from the cup, as you
mention on your blog, and i don't quite enjoy it. bitterness increases
with time, and i can't drink very very hot drinks (like most oriental
people seem to enjoy, including tea and soup).

so i will try to use a teapot if it is possible. actually, at work i
use one of these jars as a teapot. a nice one, metallic.



MarshalN ha escrit:
> On May 7, 8:36 am, cha bing > wrote:
> > I just bought a version of one of these tea jars at Teaism in Wash DC.
> > I find it addictive, really, but I think the green tea taste does
> > suffer. I wouldn't recommend drinking any really expensive teas this
> > way, but it is a nice way to sip green tea all day. When it gets near
> > the bottom, you fill it up again (and again, and again, until the
> > flavor disappears). In my opinion, I get a lot more of the bitterness
> > of green tea than the other flavors. But it is a great way to drink
> > tea because you see the leaves and always have something in the cup.
> > It is a great way to drink tea at work. I also don't mind cool or even
> > cold green tea.
> >
> > -Charles
>
> If you control the amount of leaves you put in there, you won't even
> get a lot of bitterness. It's simply the most convenient way to drink
> tea throughout the day in the office or on the go... you can do this
> to any kind of tea, not just green.
>
> I actually blogged about this before
>
> http://www.xanga.com/MarshalN/585961...aking-tea.html
>
> MarshalN
> http://www.xanga.com/MarshalN

On 05/06/2007 18:58:00 marc > wrote:

> hi,

> in my trips to china, i remarked that many workers have a portable teapot,
> usually made of plastic. they are cylindrical, and have a filter on top
> so that leaves do not get into the mouth.

> ok, for that it is ok, a very useful teaware. but what shocks me is that
> tea is not supposed to overbrew, and people using that may leave the tea
> there for many minutes, maybe more than 1 hour (so it gets cold). can
> anybody explain about that?

--
Hi Marc,

I've got one of those right here in NYC, which isn't
in China. With me it's a summertime thing. I use green
tea such as Bi Lo Chun or Long Jing or even Sencha,
put in less than I normally would, brew in cooler
water than I normally would, and carry my brew-thing
around with me. When I run out of tea liquor, I just
stop by in a cafe and refill. No problem. Once you
adjust tea amount and water temperature, you can keep
it going in an almost consistent way. Others might
differ.

Michael

On May 7, 6:48 pm, Michael Plant > wrote:
> On 05/06/2007 18:58:00 marc > wrote:
>
> > hi,
> > in my trips to china, i remarked that many workers have a portable teapot,
> > usually made of plastic. they are cylindrical, and have a filter on top
> > so that leaves do not get into the mouth.
> > ok, for that it is ok, a very useful teaware. but what shocks me is that
> > tea is not supposed to overbrew, and people using that may leave the tea
> > there for many minutes, maybe more than 1 hour (so it gets cold). can
> > anybody explain about that?
>
> --
> Hi Marc,
>
> I've got one of those right here in NYC, which isn't
> in China. With me it's a summertime thing. I use green
> tea such as Bi Lo Chun or Long Jing or even Sencha,
> put in less than I normally would, brew in cooler
> water than I normally would, and carry my brew-thing
> around with me. When I run out of tea liquor, I just
> stop by in a cafe and refill. No problem. Once you
> adjust tea amount and water temperature, you can keep
> it going in an almost consistent way. Others might
> differ.
>
> Michael

Is this similar to the way they drink Yerba Mate with Bombilla straws
in South America?

Desirea

On 05/18/2007 02:07:11 Desirea > wrote:

> On 05/06/2007 18:58:00 marc > wrote:

>>> hi, in my trips to china, i remarked that many workers have a portable
>>> teapot, usually made of plastic. they are cylindrical, and have a
>>> filter on top so that leaves do not get into the mouth. ok, for that it
>>> is ok, a very useful teaware. but what shocks me is that tea is not
>>> supposed to overbrew, and people using that may leave the tea there for
>>> many minutes, maybe more than 1 hour (so it gets cold). can anybody
>>> explain about that?

>> -- Hi Marc,

>> I've got one of those right here in NYC, which isn't in China. With me
>> it's a summertime thing. I use green tea such as Bi Lo Chun or Long Jing
>> or even Sencha, put in less than I normally would, brew in cooler water
>> than I normally would, and carry my brew-thing around with me. When I
>> run out of tea liquor, I just stop by in a cafe and refill. No problem.
>> Once you adjust tea amount and water temperature, you can keep it going
>> in an almost consistent way. Others might differ.

>> Michael

> Is this similar to the way they drink Yerba Mate with Bombilla straws in
> South America?

> Desirea

Not quite, for I believe the Yerba Mate is made quite strong.
We are talking about a cylindrical glass (or sometimes plastic)
double walled container with a plastic filter at the lid end
to keep the leaves out of your mouth. The system is nice on
several counts: It's convenient, easily held and transported,
easily filled and refilled, and it lets you watch the beauty
of the leaves unfolding. It takes a little practice to get
the temperature and the timing and the leaf amount right. The
underlying secret is "Less is more."
Michael

marc > writes:

> hi,
>
> in my trips to china, i remarked that many workers have
> a portable teapot, usually made of plastic. they are
> cylindrical, and have a filter on top so that leaves do
> not get into the mouth.
>
> ok, for that it is ok, a very useful teaware. but what
> shocks me is that tea is not supposed to overbrew, and
> people using that may leave the tea there for many
> minutes, maybe more than 1 hour (so it gets cold). can
> anybody explain about that?
>

I just got back from China, where you can get hot water to fill your
tea jar *anywhere*. I carried around one of these things incessantly,
generally using a moderate amount of merely-OK young sheng Pu'er. I
had good results generally, but on the 14-hour flight back home, when
I refilled the jar the brew was really disgusting: like rotting fish.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

On May 6, 6:58 pm, marc > wrote:
> hi,
>
> in my trips to china, i remarked that many workers have
> a portable teapot, usually made of plastic. they are
> cylindrical, and have a filter on top so that leaves do
> not get into the mouth.
>
> ok, for that it is ok, a very useful teaware. but what
> shocks me is that tea is not supposed to overbrew, and
> people using that may leave the tea there for many
> minutes, maybe more than 1 hour (so it gets cold). can
> anybody explain about that?

It really isn't so much about high quality tea or brewing as it is
easy and ready to go. I bought one and use it every now and then for
much less serious brewings and low-mid quality tea.

Occasionally I will get a disposable cup and pull the center filter
out after brewing and set it in there until I'm ready to brew again.
I'll also use it for artistic teas, I'll remove the filter and then it
is easy to see it unfurl and makes a pretty centerpiece.

- Dominic